How Hard Could It Be?
by Lunar Penguin CPhT
Summary: Don't own IPS so don't sue me! Mary and Marshall make a bet for the month of June! Originally written for the holiday prompt on LJ. My holiday is a month long!


_May 31, 2011_

"That's not so hard," Mary said as she exited the elevator with Marshall in tow, "I can do that!"

"Oh, really now," Marshall paused mid-stride as he watched Mary fumble for her key card, "You actually think that you can go for a whole 30 days without sex?"

"How bad could it be?"

Mary slid the card through the reader and went straight to her desk. Marshall caught the door before it closed and followed her. He sat down in the chair next to her and leaned in.

"Ok, I challenge you to go the entire month of June without any form of sex," his sentence was hurried; as if he didn't want anyone to overhear it, "June is, after all, Celibacy Awareness Month."

"No sex huh?" Mary's eyes glazed over with mischief as she propped her head on her hand and scooted her chair closer to him, "So, to clarify, this means no vaginal sex?"

"Yes," he gulped.

"How about oral sex?"

"None of that."

"Anal sex?"

Marshall fidgeted in his seat as he shook his head. The temperature in the office seemed to sky rocket. 'Was Mary really into that sort of thing?'

"How about masturbation, mutual masturbation, fingering, fisting, rimming…" Mary trailed off as Marshall's face take on a shade of red that she was pretty sure was not found in nature.

"That's right, none of that either," he rubbed his hand on the nape of his neck and tried not to give in to the overwhelming desire to unbutton his shirt. 'Damn, it's hot in here.'

"What about kissing?"

"I would say that's fine as long as it's not of the French variety," he was relieved for the safer subject.

"Hmmm," Mary tapped her chin in thought, "Challenge accepted, on one condition."

"What's that?"

"You have to do it too," she looked him in the eye and held out her hand for him to shake, "deal?"

"Deal."

"So, what do I get when I win?"

"Honor, pride, and bragging rights?"

"No, I don't care about 98% of that… I want something that only you can give me."

"And what might that be?" Marshall waggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

Mary was not fazed. She leaned back in her chair and thought for a minute. A slow grin crept across her features as she decided.

"When I win, I get to read the erotic fanfiction that you wrote for Star Wars."

"I thought you'd forgotten about that," Marshall moaned as he buried his face in his hands.

"Nope. It would be criminal for me to forget something like that," Mary stuck her tongue out at him.

"Fine. If you win, you can read my fanfiction," he sighed, "But if **I** win, you have to watch all of Battlestar Galactica with me in one week. All of it. Including the commentary."

Mary blanched. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before accepting. 'What have I gotten myself into?'

/\/\_Three Weeks Later_/\/\

If Marshall was having any difficulty holding up his end of the bet, Mary couldn't tell. She supposed it helped that he was a naturally private person.

The first week hadn't been difficult. It was so busy in the office that neither of the partners had a chance to think about it. By the end of each day, the partners were barely coherent enough to put together something edible to eat.

It wasn't until she was halfway through the second week that Mary began to feel like she'd completely flipped her lid.

She first noticed it while they were on a routine witness visit. It was Mary's least favorite of Marshall's charges: Barney Jameson. The man was a sex addict and constantly made sexual references and innuendos towards Mary every time she saw him. She rolled her eyes every time she thought of him and his stupid suits.

"Mare, I'm going to try and make this quick. Just let me do all the talking, and hopefully everyone will survive this visit unscathed."

"Would you prefer I stay in the car?"

"I am pretty sure that won't be necessary. Just try not to let him get to you," he coolly replied as he knocked on Barney's door.

"Marshall, my man!" Barney held up his hand for a high five which Marshall reluctantly gave. "How's it hanging, bro?"

"I like how Carl Jung put it: Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity," he paused to take a breath and noted Barney's blank expression. He sighed, "We're just checking in. How are you doing?"

"Albuquerque needs more hot chicks," Barney settled into his recliner, "you've snagged the only one." He gestured towards Mary with his beer bottle and winked.

"Barney, I've told you a million times before, there is nothing going on between Mary and myself," Marshall sighed.

"So, do you mind if I get her number?"

"I'm right here, jackass," Mary piped up.

"What's up?" Barney stood up and sauntered past Marshall up to Mary.

"You'll never be if you keep this up," she glared as she got in his face.

Marshall had to bite his tongue to keep from snickering.

"Geez, Mary, when's the last time you got laid?"

Never in his life had Marshall been more grateful for his lightning fast reflexes. Before anyone knew what was happening, Marshall was between his partner and his witness. He received the full force of her lunge as she attempted to punch Barney in the face. He stiffened as he felt her breasts against his chest when she landed flush against him.

"Whoa there, Nellie," Barney raised his hands up in surrender, "be that way. See if you ever get this offer again." He backed away and sat back down in his chair.

Marshall turned to face his witness and gave him a pointed look. He felt her huff of frustration before he heard it. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled from her warm breath and he felt her hair against his skin as she whipped around and stomped out the door. The resounding slam shook the pictures on the walls. He glared at his witness who seemed unaffected.

"Seriously, Barney?" Marshall ran a hand over his face in exasperation.

"What?"

"Let's just get this visit over with…"

Ten agonizing minutes later, Marshall exited the house and found Mary pacing the length of the SUV.

"You okay, Mare?" Even on her worst day, Mary wouldn't have tried to strike a witness unless in defense of her or his well-being.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she paused in her pacing to look at him, "he just really grates on my nerves, you know?"

"Yes, I do but usually you have your anger in check with him."

Her cell phone ringing cut her short and she answered it without bothering to check the caller ID.

"What?" Her voice was curt and her face took on a pained expression as the caller spoke, "Crap, Brandi, that was today?" Another pause as Marshall assumed Brandi was chastising her for forgetting something important. "Fine, I'll be there soon." With that, she ended the call and re-holstered the phone.

"Come on, Doofus," she nodded towards the SUV before climbing into the passenger side.

"Where are we going?"

"To Jinx's apartment. I totally forgot about this thing that they told me I had to attend."

"Ok, I can drop you off and finish our rounds," Marshall said as he turned the key in the ignition.

"Oh, hell no," she whipped her head to look at him, "If I have to suffer, then so do you. Besides, it's probably just a cake tasting or a dress show-off or something. God, if I have to look at one more pair of shoes…" she trailed off and rested her head on the window.

"Fine, but you owe me," Marshall checked all the mirrors and looked behind him before beginning to back out of Barney's driveway.

"Plus I'm counting on you to get an emergency call from work to get me out of it." Mary leaned her head against the seat and closed her eyes as the ride continued in silence.

She replayed the incident with Barney in her head over and over. Marshall was right; she was usually able to keep her cool with him. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and was suddenly aware of Marshall's proximity to her. She could smell him. He was musky and smelled faintly of Old Spice. She hoped that it wasn't obvious that she was trying to smell more of him.

She remembered how he blocked her body with his own; how she had been pressed completely against him. She gulped as she remembered how his groin felt against her abdomen and how her breasts were pressed against his solid chest.

Now Mary was sure she was going crazy.

/\/\

Brandi hung up the phone with a sigh. It was a wonder why everyone thought she was the flaky sister. While it wasn't unusual for Mary to forget about something, it had been getting worse ever since the engagement.

There was chatter coming from the other guests in the living room but she needed her mother's opinion more than anything. She turned to Jinx who was fluttering about the kitchen trying to simultaneously arrange the cocktail dogs and set up the taco buffet. She walked up to the kitchen island and began to absentmindedly stir the fondue pot.

"Mom?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think Mary disapproves of my engagement to Peter?"

"Sweetie, why would you think that?"

"I don't know, she seems to be forgetting more than she usually does; mostly with stuff about the wedding."

"She has a tough job, maybe there's a lot going on. In any case, I wouldn't worry about it. But keep stirring that chocolate."

"It's just—we told her about this party a month ago and reminded her last week," Brandi stopped stirring when she heard the doorbell ring. She wiped her hands on a towel and moved towards the door, "Nothing seems to work when it comes to jogging her memory."

"Try to ignore it for now."

Brandi sighed and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She opened the door and immediately let out an excited squeal, "Oh my God, Rebekah! I'm so excited you're here!"

"Brandi! Hi! Oh, my god let me see it!" Rebekah grabbed at Brandi's left hand and swooned over the ring Peter had gotten, "My brother has such good taste!"

"Yes, yes he does. Here, come in!" Brandi stepped out of the threshold to let the younger woman into the house.

Jinx took a good look as Peter's younger sister. She was clad in varying shades of black and purple. Her long brown hair was tied into a braid over her shoulder and her brother's brown eyes hid behind thick, yet artistic, glasses.

Three surly knocks sounded at the door.

"That must be Mary, excuse me," Brandi moved towards the door and opened it, "Mary… and Marshall! What a surprise! Come on in!"

Mary immediately went towards the food table and was trying to decide between chocolate covered frozen bananas or tacos. Brandi pulled Marshall by the arm from his awkward position in the doorway. She then joined her friends in the living room.

"Is he the entertainment?" Sharla sounded from the living room as Marshall stepped into view.

Marshall blushed as he realized that the room was full of women; women who were looking at him like starved wolves.

"Um, Mare?" he barely moved as he tried to remain hidden in plain sight of the occupants of the wolves' den.

Mary was already at the taco buffet and didn't seem to notice his discomfort.

"Mary?" Marshall tried again as he began to slowly back towards the door.

"Marshall! How nice to see you! The more, the merrier," Jinx made her entrance to the scene with her usual dramatic flair. She looped an arm through his and led him to the living room.

Brandi took his distraction as an opportunity to reach into Jinx's bag and pull out a bottle. When no one was looking, she snuck into the kitchen to dab the contents onto a paper towel. She walked back into the room holding that and a glass of water.

Digging his cowboy boots into the carpet didn't seem to help his situation. He resigned himself to taking a seat next to Mary.

Mary simply looked between him and her half-eaten plate of tacos. "Want one?" She held the plate in front of him. He shook his head with a pained expression on his face.

"Ok now that everyone's here, let's get started," Jinx reached behind the couch at the far end of the room and pulled out her bag, "Welcome to my very first Athena Party! Today we are going to explore some of the different methods by which we celebrate our sexuality."

Mary choked on her taco.

Brandi stepped up to the loveseat the partners were seated on. "Here, take this, Mary. No dying at my bachelorette party," she gestured with the glass of water towards Mary and it sloshed over the edges and onto Marshall's shirt. "Oh, my God, Marshall I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you!" She dabbed at his neck with the paper towel she'd gotten from the kitchen.

"It's fine, Brandi, it's just water," Marshall waved her off.

"Mare, I think I should go," Marshall leaned over to whisper to Mary, "this seems like a girls' only kind of thing."

"All the more reason you should stay, Doofus," she whispered back after regaining control of her esophagus, "you are more of a girl than I am. Who knows? Maybe you'll learn something about pleasing a woman."

"I'll have you know I'm very adept at giving pleasure," Marshall must have said this louder than he thought because all of a sudden, every set of eyes in the room was on him.

"Sure… that's why Abigail dumped you," Mary ignored the room's reaction to Marshall's statement and realized by how his head bowed that she had gone too far.

Without a word, Marshall rose from his seat and approached Brandi. "Thanks for the invite but I think I'm going to have to pass. Have a good time, alright?" He didn't bother to wait for her response before striding past her and out the door.

Mary continued to ignore the judging looks cast in her direction as she shook her head and got up to follow him. She trailed him to the SUV where she found him leaning against it with his head in his hands.

"Marshall…" she didn't know what to say. She was never good at apologies.

"Save it, Mare, you don't know the first thing about my relationship with Abby," he groaned.

"Hey, look at me," she moved closer to him and when he didn't obey she grabbed his chin and forced him to meet her eyes. She was taken aback when she saw trace amounts of tears shining in his stormy blue eyes. 'I don't think I've ever seen him cry,' she thought as she brought the hand holding his chin around to the back of his neck and guided his head onto her shoulder. She felt him tense at first then relax as she threaded her fingers through his hair. She rested her cheek against his head and whispered her apology.

She knew this was uncharacteristic of her. Normally, she would ignore any brash or harsh words that came out of her mouth. There was something about Marshall today, however, that softened her. She felt like she wanted to care for him; dare she even think about cuddling? He looked like a kicked puppy when she'd mentioned his break-up with Abigail.

She wanted to pound the Roadhouse bitch for hurting her Marshall.

She blinked. "Her" Marshall? Since when? She took a deep breath and was overwhelmed by his scent. He smelled indescribable: like desert and musk if she had to put words to it. Whatever it was, it was all man and it invaded her senses and put them in hyper drive.

Her hormones had gone to ludicrous speed. Maybe this bet wasn't such a good idea.

Marshall's breathing evened out after a few minutes and the duo remained awkwardly intertwined against the SUV. Tentatively, he lifted his head off of Mary's shoulder. Tension was thick in the air between them before Mary turned her head to cough.

Mary looked anywhere but at him. Through the bay window of Peter and Brandi's house, she could see Jinx brandishing a large purple dildo in one hand and what looked to be a remote control in the other.

It was time to go.

"Come on, Marshall, let's finish up our rounds. I have the perfect idea for how we can relax after today," she patted him on the back and ruffled his hair as she passed him to climb into the passenger side. She watched with amusement as he fixed his hair on the way to his seat in the SUV. He seemed more at ease but she could tell that he was still hurting from both her words and the break up.

A couple hours later, Mary found herself panting while crouched against a wall. The sounds of shots fired rang about her in a never ending stream of muffled noise. All that mattered was finding her partner. She scooted up the wall just enough to be able to see over it. She just needed a glimpse of him; just to know he was handling himself until she could get to him.

A smaller, heavier looking body darted in and out of her peripheral vision and she was back on guard. She checked her gun and peeked around the side of the wall. There were two figures hunched over a boulder and two shots were all it took to take them out.

That's when she saw it. Marshall appeared out of nowhere to charge one of the enemies but was immediately shot at by multiple assailants. Contact was made and Mary watched with horror as a blood-red stain began spreading across his gray t-shirt.

Her partner was down. All defenses forgotten, she emitted a battle cry that would have made the most deadly of Apache fear for his life as she ran towards her fallen partner; shooting at anyone in her way.

"Come on, Marshall! Get up! We need to find cover!" Mary wrapped an arm around his waist and was thankful for what little assistance he could provide as she dragged him to cover. She got them to a boulder and shifted her hip to get Marshall behind it first.

It was then that she felt the stinging contact in her lower back.

"Jesus Christ on a stick! That fucking hurt!" She craned her head to look at the red stain that had appeared, "I knew I shouldn't have worn this shirt today." She pulled off her helmet after ducking behind the boulder and kneeling next to Marshall.

"Dish detergent should get that out," he mumbled as he lifted his own shirt to check for bruising.

Mary had only seen him shirtless a handful of times. She realized that she must have not paid too much attention because she was in awe of his abs. He was no Schwarzenegger but there was certainly some definition. She reached out to lightly trace where some bruises were beginning to form; thus marring the perfectly pale skin.

She suppressed a laugh as the muscles quivered under her touch. Goosebumps formed in the wake of her nails scratching against his skin. He jumped a bit as she brushed over a sensitive spot.

Marshall was ticklish. She would save this information for another day.

His scent was inside her nostrils once more as a breeze blew over the partners. Something awakened inside of her and before she knew it, she was pressing her lips to each of the bruises on his abdomen.

Marshall's eyes closed involuntarily and a shuddering sigh escaped him as he felt the petals of her lips against his skin. The breeze was cool and her lips were warm. His hands travelled to her blonde tresses of their own accord. He closed his fingers in her hair as he combed them through it.

This was neither the time nor the place. The battle raged on beyond their little hiding spot. He tugged at her hair just enough so that she would look at him. He wasn't prepared for the raw desire he saw in her hazel eyes.

"I don't think now is the best time to get into this," his voice was laced with lust and his breath millimeters from the sensitive skin on her lips, "not when there are a bunch of 12 year olds scattered about shooting paintballs at each other."

"You're probably right; I don't even know what got into me," Mary once again could not meet his eyes. Marshall could see the tell-tale flushing of embarrassment and arousal tinged on the apples of her cheeks.

"It's not that I don't want to –" he began.

"No, I get it," she pulled her helmet back on and reloaded her gun, "now let's go kick some 12 year old ass."

Marshall merely rolled his eyes as he followed her into battle once more.

/\/\

Later that night, the duo had decided on a dinner of pizza, a side of calamari, and beer. Dinner had been eaten in awkward silence. Neither partner wanted to broach the subject of what had happened on the field. Marshall was cleaning up as Mary leaned against the counter and sipped her beer.

Mary also noted that Marshall smelled amazing. It was driving her nuts.

"I should probably tell you why Abby and I split up," Marshall said suddenly as he turned around and promptly looked down. He shoved his hands into his pockets.

"If you want," she stood in place; not knowing whether she should move closer or not.

"Don't take this the wrong way or anything," he began after a long pause, "but it was because of you."

Mary was taken aback. Of all the possible reasons she could think of as to why they'd broken up, this was the last one on the list. She found her voice after a minute. "How so?"

"She couldn't handle us," he gestured between them, "you know, as in our partnership, our job, etcetera. Also, never knowing where I was or who I was with was really getting to her." He turned to sit on his couch and put his head in his hands.

Mary took this as her cue to sit next to him. Not used to being the comforting one, she awkwardly put her right arm over his shoulders and her left hand on his forearm. "There, there," she made a feeble attempt at comfort.

His right hand found hers and he lightly let it rest there. "Do you know what she said? What she accused me of?" His voice caught in his throat and he continued before she had a chance to respond, "She accused me of cheating on her… with you."

Mary was speechless. She knew the rumors were out there and the partners were never bothered by them before.

"Raph had accused me of the same thing, you know," she scooted closer so they were hip to hip on the couch. Mary pulled him closer to her so he could rest his head on her shoulder, "I suppose if they think you can't be trusted, then they aren't really worth it in the end."

"I know that, but it still hurts to not be trusted by someone you thought you loved," he murmured.

"You don't think you loved Abigail?" Mary whispered against his hair.

He took a deep breath he before lifting his head to look her dead in the eyes, "In the end, no. I genuinely liked her but my heart has always belonged elsewhere. Also, to her, 'et' was the past tense of 'eat'. It drove me crazy."

Mary was stunned. She'd known for the past couple years of his feelings for her. He'd kissed her in the barn only yards away from her witness and African diamond smugglers, held her as she'd cried over her father, helped her through her recovery after she'd been shot, and made that speech right before her trip to Mexico.

She saw her reflection in his eyes. She saw fear, anxiety, and… love? Could she really love him back? Did she already love him?

"Marshall…" she trailed off as she moved closer and pulled him into an embrace. Her own tears were beginning to form. As she felt him wrap his arms around her, a feeling of security washed over and she realized that she'd loved him all this time.

Mary's movement from the sofa was abrupt and spontaneous. She walked over to his DVD case with purpose and began skimming the titles until she found the one she wanted. Pointedly ignoring Marshall's inquiring looks; she crouched in front of the DVD player and put the disc in.

She sat back down while rolling her eyes as she leaned against him. "Battlestar Gallactica better be worth losing this bet for."

FIN

/\/\

EPILOGUE

It was a record setting five minutes into the first episode when Mary said, "Yeah, I'm bored already." Before Marshall knew what was happening, she was straddling his lap and kissing him. "I've got to ask what cologne you're wearing; it's been driving me crazy all day," she said as she moved to his neck while fumbling with his t-shirt.

"I never wear cologne, Mare, it gives me migraines," he tried to slow her advances. This moment had been a long time coming and there was no way in hell he was going to let it be a quickie. Her nails on his skin distracted him and he laid his head back against the couch as he tried to regain control of himself.

"Well whatever it was, you'd better not wear it at work; I'd never get anything accomplished," she sat back on his lap with her hands resting on his abs under the shirt.

"And how is this different from any other day?" He laughed as she moved her fingers to his rib and began to tickle him.

"You're such a jackass!" She attacked his torso with her fingers and took delight in his helpless laughter.

This continued for several minutes until Marshall was able to flip their positions so that she was under him. He pinned her arms above her head and ground his pelvis into her.

He brought his mouth to her ear and growled, "Let's see if you have any sensitive spots," before nipping at her lobe. Her shiver caused him to grin wolfishly as he held her wrists with one hand. The other went to her ribcage underneath her tank top. "Ta peau est si douce," he whispered before licking and kissing the spot behind her ear.

"You can't do this in English?"

"Would you prefer Klingon?"

"You actually know Klingon?"

"And Elvish, Huttese, Spanish…" he looked to the ceiling as he recalled what languages he knew.

"What the fuck is Huttese?"

"It's the language spoken by the Hutts in Star Wars. Jabba the Hut speaks it and Han Solo at least understands it."

"Oh my God, shut your trap," she began fervently kissing him.

He ground into her once more; delighting in the gasp of pleasure she gave into his mouth. His hand travelled further into her tank top to the small of her back as he held her to him.

He released his grip on her wrists to cup her breast as he held her close at the small of her back. "Cut diamonds, your nipples can, hmm?" he said in his best Yoda voice as he ran the pad of his thumb over the stiffened peak.

"Yeah, okay, not cool. We're done. Call me when you don't have tentacles," she struggled against him in her effort to escape.

"I thought you'd like to hear my Star Wars erotica instead of reading it; like from an audio book. That was from one of my earlier works entitled 'Yoda-Leia'd Who?' And, for the record, Yoda didn't have tentacles."

"Whatever, this is too weird," she pushed him up and stood from the couch.

"Hey, hey! I'm sorry, Mare," he wrapped his arms around her midsection from behind and rested his head on her shoulder, "I was just teasing. I don't pair Yoda and Leia. That's just creepy. I'm a Han and Leia fan. Traditional."

She tried to pry his arms from around her waist but found that she couldn't. They seemed to be suctioned to her. She looked down and was horrified to see two tentacles where his arms should have been. She tried to scream but another arm snaked around her head to cover her mouth before she could. She turned her head as much as the restraints allowed and she was able to catch a glimpse of Marshall with the head of a squid in her peripheral vision.

Marshall was content to be relaxing on his couch with Mary dozing on his shoulder. All seemed to be right with the world at this moment. Suddenly, he was startled as his partner began to scream bloody murder. The ending credits of Battlestar Gallactica were just starting to roll. He'd known she'd fallen asleep. He shifted to grab her by the shoulders.

"Mare, wake up! You're having a nightmare," he shook her lightly chuckling only for a moment at the seeming redundancy of the word "nightmare".

Her eyes flew open but she continued to struggle, "Get your tentacles off of me!" She clawed at his arms and face in her efforts to break free.

"Mary! It's ok, there are no more tentacles. See?" He offered her his arms and noted that she had drawn blood from him. 'Damn, her nails are sharp.' Some clarity restored in her eyes as she blinked a few times and seemed to take in her surroundings. More importantly, she took a long, hard look at his arms.

"You're bleeding," she whispered as she reached out to touch his face.

He touched the fingers on his bloody arm to his cheek. Sure enough, blood coated his fingertips.

"We should get you cleaned up," Mary said quietly as she got up from the couch and offered her hand to him.

He smiled, took her hand, and was led to the kitchen. He noticed her cringe at the calamari in the fridge as she reached for another beer. He jumped up onto the counter. He was completely prepared to be nursed.

Mary pulled two bottles from the fridge and handed one to Marshall before stepping over to the sink. She took a paper towel and wetted it. She dabbed at his face and arm to clean off the blood.

"So, tentacles, huh?" He made a feeble attempt at drawing the nightmare out of her.

She glared at him before disappearing to the bathroom where he kept his first aid supplies. She reappeared moments later holding his oversized bottle of peroxide and the comically smaller bottle of liquid bandage. He let her bandage him up but pulled her close before she could retreat.

"Hey," he whispered as he brushed a stray tress from her face, "what's the matter?"

She looked down for a minute before meeting his eyes and replying, "I don't ever want to read your fanfiction."

"Fine by me," he chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her. The sensation of her lips on his neck overwhelmed him and he sighed contentedly. Her fingers found their way under his shirt once again. They traced light circles on his skin and outlined each of his abdominal muscles. He could feel every single goose bump form as the digits trailed his spine and dipped torturously below the waistband of his jeans.

Her lips travelled to his jaw line and ear; biting, sucking and kissing the sensitive flesh. She seemed encouraged by the soft moans that came from him. He was helpless and could only rub his fingers up and down her arms.

Mary made quick work of his belt; pulling it from the belt loops in one fluid motion. It was erotic and he'd never been so turned on in his life. Her hand cupped his erection and he gasped. Marshall opened his eyes and saw the look in her eyes. It was very similar to the one she had when she was about to go into a fight. It was wild and her eyes changed from a fiery, golden hazel to a smoldering, phosphorescent green. Her eyes challenged him to resist.

There was no way in hell that was happening.

She stepped into his legs so she was flush against him. 'Just like earlier' he remembered their earlier situation with Barney. Once more, her breasts were pressed to his chest and the only thing different about this scenario was that he had his erection pressing into her abdomen instead of his belt buckle.

He could feel her breath on his ear as she whispered to him, "Do you have any idea what I want to do to you?"

He gulped as he shook his head. He wasn't used to being the submissive one. He groaned as he felt her press her belly into his groin. Her fingers were playing with the button on his jeans. He felt the restraint of the denim loosen and he shifted on the counter so she could pull the jeans and boxers down.

He was thankful that he'd been sitting on the counter this entire time; the marble would have been too cold otherwise.

He didn't have much time to think about it. Her lips were on his cock in seconds. The whispered moans were a thing of the past as she sucked and licked his entire length. He could feel himself hitting the back of her throat. Her throat muscles spasm only momentarily as they became used to him.

One hand held him as she continued her ministrations while the other pushed his shirt up his chest. He took the hint and discarded the thin cotton garment. Where it landed, he didn't know. He was close to coming; that much he was sure about.

It was time to turn the tables.

He wound his fingers into her hair and guided her from his cock to his mouth. She tasted of him. She was salty and sweet at the same time. He took his time to slide down the space between the counter and her body as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Witchy woman," he growled into her ear, "it's my turn now." He brought his hands to her belly and spanned it as they pushed her tank top up her body. He latched onto her breast and bit at the nipple through the thin lace of her bra. He cupped her breasts and moved his hands around to her back where the clasp was hooked. Nimble fingers undid it with no effort and he removed his mouth from her breast for just enough time to slide the garment off. Then he made efficient work of her jeans and panties.

Her bare body was the most beautiful thing he'd seen in his life. He took a moment to admire it.

He needed to feel her breasts against his chest; skin on skin. "Eres muy guapa," he muttered as he buried his face in her neck, "n'essaye jamais de me quitter." He looked pleadingly into her eyes. Hers shone with confusion and happiness.

Marshall kissed her tenderly and smiled against her as she mingled her tongue with his. The tension continued to build. He spun them so she was against the counter. He lifted her and sat her on the marble surface.

He was inside her in one fluid motion. He paused to take in the image of her head thrown back in pleasure; her arms bracing her body on the counter, her breasts adorned with aroused nipples attempting to still their momentum from the sudden movement, and her air catching the reflection of the moonlight shining through the window. He brought a tentative hand to her cheek and traced it down the center of her body down to her clit. He had to know this was real.

Her body urged him on; that was the only motivation he needed to begin a slow rhythm. Her moans of pleasure spurred him on. He pressed his thumb into her to add to her impending orgasm.

And he felt it. Her vaginal walls clenched tightly around him and wouldn't let him go. He made three sharp thrusts into her before he spilled himself inside of her.

His shaky legs held him up so that he wouldn't collapse on top of her. Marshall held her close to him so she would not fall back. He felt her mumble something into his neck and he pulled away.

"What was that?"

"I said: so much for celibacy month…" she grinned.

With a feral grin of his own, he picked her up to bring her to his bedroom. Screw Celibacy Awareness Month. Literally.

The Foreign Language (In Order of Appearance)

ta peau est si douce (your skin is so soft)

eres muy guapa (you are so beautiful) (Spanish)

n'essaye jamais de me quitter (Don't ever try to leave me)


End file.
